Canada Fast-Tracks Pacific Oil Pipeline to Reduce US Dependence

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has fast-tracked a proposed oil pipeline, Pacific Link, which could reduce Canada's dependence on the United States and mend relations with oil-rich Alberta. The pipeline would carry one million barrels of oil per day from Bruderheim, Alberta to a deep water port near Delta in British Columbia.

The project is expected to cost between $25 billion and $31 billion, but significant questions remain about its financing and whether producers will commit to using it. Pembina Pipeline Corp., the main private investor, holds a 10% economic interest and would decide whether to invest by the time a final investment decision is made.

The pipeline also faces opposition from Indigenous communities and environmental groups, with most of the consulted Indigenous communities not prepared to support the project's listing. However, Carney said that the 'real intensive consultation process will begin now' and that Canada, Alberta, and the project's owners have committed to offering Indigenous communities an ownership stake of at least 10%.